1. Statement of the Technical Field
The present invention relates to connective cables and more particularly to tracing cables and cable management in information handling systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
The widespread introduction of computing and communication devices is rapidly increasing the need for communication interconnections. Information handling systems can include a variety of hardware and software components that can be configured to process, store and communication information, and can include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. As the density of these information handling systems increases, managing the cables that connect the various systems and components becomes a problem. Tracing electrical cables when they are routed from one point to another, through long distances and/or while other identical cables of the same type surround them, can be a time consuming challenge. It is common to see workers or technicians slowly following a cable from one place to another by contacting it hand-over-hand, digging into bundles with their fingers to keep contact with the specific cable, and the like. It is not unusual for these workers to lose track of the cable when, for example, the cable takes an unexpected turn, goes through a narrow passage, or when the worker tracing the cable just loses concentration for a moment.
Such tracing activities occur when routing cables through channels, inside suspended ceilings, under raised floors in information technology (IT) centers and labs, and during the configuration and integration of complex computer systems in racks by a computer manufacturer. For example, computer servers, when installed and configured into racks, have numerous cables that interconnect the servers, switches, Product Development Units (PDU), and other system devices. Cable management remains an important issue. Conventional methods to handle this issue are to use cables with specific colored jackets or manually apply printed labels that indicate point-to-point wiring. However, this process is labor intensive in the manufacturing environment and once the customer receives the configured server solution, maintenance can be difficult if the need to trace cabling should arise. Moreover, cable labels add additional complexity as new cables are added or moved in the systems, and applied cable labels can fall off. Use of color-coded cables increases the number of part numbers and thereby increases inventory complexity and related costs.